Bearing assembly



May 2, 1950 s. R. THOMAS ETAL 3,506,525

BEARING ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 17, 1947 2 sheets-sheet 1 /f O O v May 2, 1950 s. R. THOMAS -r-:T Ay. 2,506,525

BEARING ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 17, 1947 Y 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented May 2, 1950 South Bend, Ind.assignors to The Torrington Company; South Bend, Indi, a corporation of Indiana Applioation January 17, 194i, serial No. 1223318 6 Claims.

This invention relates to bearing assemblies and more particularly is concerned with a bearing assembly for use in supporting the roll necks of the rolls used in rolling mills and the like.

One object of the present invention is to provide a bearing assembly for roll necks of this type in which a self-aligning spherical roller type bearing is employed to accommodate the deiiections of the roll neck caused by the 'cor-'- responding deflection of the rolls and a second roller bearing assembly, mounted at each side of the supporting bearing pedestal for accommodating axial movement of the roll neck.

In the present invention, the latter bearing assembly comprises a cage, roll 'and roller plate unit which is mounted on either side of the bearing housings and becomes what might be conu sidered part of the ladder bearing With the intermediate rolls and sleeve pockets removed. There is provided a spring on either si'de of the retaining screw which supports the roller plate as'- sembly in position relative the bearing housing and is utilized to keep the cage and rollers in correct relationship until the rollers are loaded and the entire housing is in operating position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a roller assembly and bearing construction for a roll neck which 'will accommodate oating of the bearing and housing during shaft deiiection and take care of axial travel of the roll. In the present construction, the bearing housing is stabilized by the roller bearings upon which it is supported so that it can m'ove axially and the self-aligning spherical 'roller bearing is used about the roll neck to take care 'of deflection.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bearing assembly possessing these characteristics which is considerably cheaper than the construction in which a complete ladder bearing is provided.

A still further advantage secured by the present construction is to provide one piece cage, roller and rollerI plate assemblies on each side of the bearing housings which can vbe manufactured at relatively low cost and which eliminate considerable machining of adjacent parts which would be necessary if two short roll assemblies were employed on each side of the housing. Such construction would also require the use of spacers which is accommodated in the present construction by making a unitary plate assembly which provides for positive spacing of the `rollers Without the necessity of any additional pieces.

Other objects and advantages of the present construction Avviu lbe 'more apparent V'from the following detailed description, which, taken conjunction with the accompanying drawings, Will disclose t0 'those Skilled vthe art; 'JI-'i par tisular construction and perationfof a preferred form of the present invention.

In the drawings:

Figure l is an end elevatin'alyiew of va Beal? ing housing and asseinbly `-for the VVroll neck of a roller employing the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elvati'n f tli structur shown in Figure 1.

Figure l3 is a sectional view off the'strilotur shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an isometric view of the 'roller ca'e and lower plate of the assembly yshov'vri Vin Figures l and 2. i

Referring now in detail to the "drawings, there is provided the bearing housing 'f5 which hou ing is supported upon a pedestal or supporting meinbei S, the bearing housing 5 being 'adapted t0 contain a bearing assembly 'l which consists o'f the outer bearing race 8 located in the housing f5; the inner bearing jrace 9 Amounted Vupon vvthe reduced portion, indicated ygeneraflly at Irl, of a roll neck I2, and a doiible row of spherical rollers i3 contained within the bearing ica-ge H.

This bearing assembly i is of the yconven'tional self-aligning double fspherical roller bearing conL struction and 'pfrovides'a construction 'which accommodates deflection ofthe 4rol-l ireok r'f2 au'sed by bending bf the roll. The housing 5 includes a side plate I0 which is provided with 'a suitable lubricant seal indicated 'generally Iat '|55 'at the end of the housing where it surrounds the roll neck i2; The opposite end of housing `5 has yan enclosing end plate H bolted thereto'enclosing the -roll neck Iand bearing assembly. The "nner race of bear-ing assembly 1 `is held v upon the reduced end of the roll neck by of plate IB bolted lto 'the end of 'the Ashaft and forcing lthe inner 'race against the "thrust Washer I8.

The base `'portion of Vthe supporting housing '5 is provided at opposite sides thereof `with longitudinally directed recessed porti'ons 'is fdeined at tiroir 'inner edges by vetioai waiis 2i by which the `assembly may be lguided into :the recess '3i formed in the supprting base v.'Iii'is -ailvfs easy location vof the bearing Yassenti-bly in its support. The surfaces i9 eachrec'eive a bearing plate `2l! extending vloilgitu'dirrally "along Athe 'upper 'face 'of the recess as shown in Fi'gufjre 2. The plates `2'0, 4in lare adapted to -frest u'pdn'the straight roller members 22 carried fa 'Tease assembly, indicated generally in ligure 4 at 23, and mounted upon the roller plate 24. The rollers 22 4are secured within suitable recesses in the cage 23.

The cage assembly also preferably includes longitudinally extending portions 25 which are joined to the transversely extending ends containing the rollers 22, as clearly shown in Figure 4. Intermediate the roller* pockets, the member 25 is suitably apertured to receive oppositely disposed coil springs 2l which are separated by means of the retaining screw 23. The retaining screw 28 is adapted to be screwed into a suitably tapped opening formed in the vertically extending walls of the recesses I9 formed in the member 5. To initially locate the assembly 23 in po- It is believed that the present construction provides a simple way of supporting the roll neck for axial movement by means of a unitary assembly which can be secured in position and can be located in position by the retaining screw 23 until such time as the rollers 22 are loaded after which the springs perform no particdlar function inasmuch as the plate 24 is then located thereby holding the rollers 22 in their respective relative positions.

We are aware that various changes may be made in certain details of the present construction, and we therefore do not intend to be limited except as defined by the scope and spirit of sition, the springs 2l function to center this as- Y sembly relative to the retaining screw 28 and to locate it in position until the rollers are loaded within the'assembly.

One such assembly is located on either side of the member and it will be noted that by the position of the rollers in the manner noted, the entire assembly including the bearing housing 5 for the .self-aligning bearing assembly 1, is free to travel axially relative to the axis of the roll thereby accommodating expansion iand contraction of the roll necks axially while the self-aligning bearing accommodates deflection of the roll.

The roll assembly 23 has lower plate 213 thereof resting upon a supporting surface 30 formed integrally upon the supporting base S. This provides a flat fixed support for the assembly 23 to maintain accurate positioning of the assembly relative the supporting member 6 and to provide that the axis of the two rollers 22 will be m-aintained in the same horizontal plane and will be located such as to accommodate straight axial movement of the assembly supported thereon.

Preferably suitable dust covers 34 are provided ing plate 35 to the member 5 and supporting plate 36 to the member 6. The dust plates are preferably screwed into position as by means of the screws 31 and serve to protect the assembly 23 against the entrance of dust, foreign particles, or the like which might be injurious to the rollers Suitable side plates 32 enclose the sides of the opening receiving the bearing plate assembly and are secured in position in any suitable manner to the housing 5 and slidable base 6 due to the slotted openings 33 in the plates. With this type of assembly, by lremoving the dust covers and side plates 32, it is possible to lift the entire assembly out of the supporting base 5 with the bearing assembly 23 and plate 2B remaining secured to the bearing housing 5. This facilitates inspection and maintenance of the bearings. The side plates, when in operation, provide means for lift,- ing Vthe complete assembly with the base and prevent lifting of housing 5 from base 6. The slots Y33 provided in these plates permit axial movement of housing 5 relative to the base 6.

It will therefore be seen that with the present construction, the roll neck l l is supported for axial'movement by the entire assembly being carried upon the rollers 22 on opposite sides thereof, four rollers thus being provided to produce a firm and planar support for this axial movement. Deflection of the rolls which produces corresponding cooking of the roll neck is accommodated by ing'assembly 1.

the appended claims.

We claim: l. In a roll neck bearing assembly, a self-aligning spherical roller bearing about said neck, a

bearing housing therefor, and supporting means for said housing comprising a xed stand, a pair of rollers arranged on said stand on opposite sides of said neck, and bearing plates on said housing engaging said rollers and movable thereon in accordance with axial movement of said roll neck.

2. Supporting means fora roll neck comprising a self-aligning roller bearing assembly about said neck, a supporting Vhousing for said bearing assembly having opposed laterally offset arms terminating in horizontal surfaces parallelling the axis of said roll neck, a supporting base having corresponding surfaces spaced below said housing surfaces, and unitary flat roller plate assemblies between said surfaces including longitudinally spaced transverse rollers for transmitting the load from said housing to said base and accommodating axial movement of said roll neck and housing.

3. The structureY of claim 2 including spring loaded anchoring means for initially locating said roller assemblies in position prior to loading of said rollers.

4. Ina roll neck supporting structure, a selfaligning bearing surrounding said neck, a housing for said bearing having axially extending supporting legs at opposite sides of the housing provided with horizontal supporting surfaces, a cage, roller and'roller plate'unit assembly secured to said housing adjacent each of said legs with transverse rollers therein engaging said surfaces, and supporting base means Vbeneath said housing having aligned .surfaces on opposite sides of said housing receiving and supporting said plates of said unit assemblies.

5. The structure of claim 4 including springcentered anchoring means for securing each of said'unit assemblies to said housing.

6. The structure of claim 4 including means preventing'vertical movementV of said housing relative to said base during operation, and meansV REFERENCES CITED YThe followingfreferences; are-of recordin the le of this patenti: Y g n I A UNITED STATES-PATENTS Number Name VDate 1,898,273Y StevensV f Feb. 21,*1933 2,138,601`V AHerrmann Nov. 29, 1938 

